Discovery, Liberty Global Acquire All3Media in $930 Million Deal

Discovery and Liberty Global have established a joint venture to acquire TV production group All3Media in a deal valued at $930 million.

Deal calls for All3Media to remain an autonomous company with its own management team. All3Media has operations in the U.S., U.K., Germany, the Netherlands and New Zealand. The deal with Discovery and Liberty’s global arm is designed to expand the reach and scope of All3Media in its existing markets as well as taking it into new turf.

Discovery and Liberty will each contribute $150 million in cash toward the purchase, the rest to be funded with equity and a credit facility to be raised by All3Media. All3Media is owned by its founders, including chairman Steve Morrison, and private equity firm Permira.

“This is a proud recognition of the achievements of our stellar creative companies in making ground breaking, popular, high-quality content,” said All3Media CEO Farah Ramzan Golant. “Our new strategic investors support our commercial ambition and value our creative independence. Through their new joint venture, they provide us with world class experience and resources to start the next chapter of our story.”

The Discovery-Liberty deal for All3Media continues the torrid pace of consolidation among indie production outfits during the past two years. On Wednesday, U.K.’s ITV cut a deal with Leftfield Entertainment, home of “Pawn Stars” and other cable shows, for $380 million.